orthodox
by Tune4Toons
Summary: Normal is nothing short of a cracked delusion. — Falox — For DaZeLinker's Song!fic-Fest Contest and SSG3's Singing Smashers Contest.


Tune4Toons: Just to disclaim, this is rated with a very high T for mentions of alcohol abuse, violence, and somewhat suggestive content. Readers' discretion is advised.

Let's just say this monster of a story is the result of when certain people keep calling me out on not writing enough romance stories. xD You guys know who you are. (And I swear I'm working on _Urban Genesis_ at the same time!) This is set in Star Fox's comic-verse (with Fara Phoenix) mixed with the 64 game-verse (so without Krystal). And for the sake of the story, the idea of Melee, Brawl, and any set rosters from past tournaments do not exist.

This is inspired by _What If We Could?_ from _The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo_ soundtrack: (_youtube DOT com/watch?v=FlwCO15Gfec_) So I recommend listening to that at the same time.

Here is my entry to _DaZeLinker's Song!fic-Fest Contest _as well as this being my second attempt in entering _SSG3's Singing Smashers Contest_. Blame Cam for getting me to take a second go at it and switch haha. (Lucky number two much? /shot) Special thanks again to _MessengerOfDreams _for all the help! Any leftover holes are solely my own. Feedback and concrit are always appreciated! Enjoy.

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xopoɥʇɹO

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I sometimes wonder if living means to live a lie.  
If people wear masks that'd otherwise be considered invisible.

The clinking of champagne glasses mock me. Ambassadors in gowns and suits scatter around the room, but still they have me surrounded. Have me in their sights. And their every breath poisons the air.

They'll catch on eventually. Not a guess, a fact.

The peacock to my left glances away from my direction, but his tail feathers have eyes painted on them, eyes that keep staring at me. I also catch faint sparkles around the room where light bounces off small lenses—cameras in every corner. Some hidden, some carried by others. Gotta keep my guard up.

Swallow. Act natural, and maybe they won't notice.

Helps to have Falco standing beside me. It's rare to see him dressed in a tux and tie. He downs a few glasses of wine in less than five minutes as he grabs some more from passing waiters with a smile. How does Falco manage it? Pretending nothing's wrong. Pretending he can forget everything that's ever happened. Or maybe it's the wine that's been helping him. Worth a shot.

Someone taps my shoulder. Had I not returned from a war, I would've flinched. Turn around, see a canine suited in a red military uniform and hat.

General Pepper. I fake a smile and shake his hand. Find myself expecting him to bark out commands or another job offer. It's a standard pattern between us. Take his jobs, please the public, pay off my debts, and start the cycle all over again. Like a poster boy for model citizens, though I'd puke at the thought.

"Congratulations, Mister McCloud." He's as formal as always. "Is it true you received an invitation for Smash Brothers?"

But the only sounds I hear coming out of his mouth are gunfire.

I still hear it sometimes. The cries of shot soldiers who fought beside me. The bombs that whistled from above my head. The voices of men who could've been in my place instead of me. Now standing in a ballroom feels unnatural—as if each pair of eyes here are snipers watching my every movement.

But I nod. Did my best to block out the gunfire. To listen for the sounds of silverware clinking. To hear the crowds of living people gossiping about me.

Sometimes I wonder what if I'd gone deaf during the war.  
Why there are no visible wounds as proof of what I went through.

A weasel nudges Pepper and starts talking to him, swiping his attention away. But I catch the weasel also stealing a glimpse of me. Not just him, people around us have been looking at me for a while. Have to keep calm. Nothing's wrong. Besides, Falco's the one standing next to me still grabbing glasses from waiters and gulping down the wine like water.

"Slow down," I say. "People are staring at you."

He chuckles. "Who cares? Best take what you can get."

Still don't get how he can do that. Wish I can do the same.

But someone's arm soon wraps around mine, and I turn to see a fennec in a skin-tight dress smiling. Fara, my girlfriend, a beautiful sight to see. The sparkling red dress suits her copper fur. But I catch the stares of the paparazzi, so I take her arm and play along. Falco turns and sees her beside me. Then he tells me he's gonna go grab some more drinks before walking away.

They won't find anything on me; I'm as normal as people expect me to be.

Or so I tell myself.

* * *

"Do you love me?" Her whisper tickles my ear, but the noise makes it hard to hear her.

I don't bother to answer as I smile and wave at the screaming line of fans with posters, cell phones, and cameras flashing at my face. Like walking through a corridor of eyes along a floor lined with a red carpet. Didn't like it, but I head towards the metal hull of the Great Fox at the end of the aisle, arms loosely locked with Fara's next to me. Her velvet dress only makes her look more elegant in her step compared to the battered, green jumpsuit and dusty coat I have on.

An old hare stands by the entrance of the ship—Peppy. I know why he's there. Why wouldn't he be? He raised me in my father's place and is now watching as I represent Lylat in the most honorable tournament of legends. I already know what he'll say before he says it.

"Your father would've been so proud, junior."  
_Continue his legacy, junior._

The same phrase. From my mentor, my fans, my commanders.  
Couldn't bear to disappoint them, but I don't know if I already have.

Letting go of Fara, I turn to face both her and the crowd. Give her a kiss on the cheek, and I hear all my fans swoon. As far as the public know, she and I are in a relationship.

"Do you love him?" she says again before I go.

I step into the ship without answering.

* * *

_The moment we enter my apartment, Fara rips off her heels and tosses them aside. "Hate walking in those. And the press, when will they let up?"_

_I chuckle a bit. "They've been like that since Falco and I got back. Better get used to it."_

_We drop onto the couch. Fara sits beside me, head resting on my shoulder. She sighs. "What was it like being in war?"_

_"Weren't you a part of it too?"_

_She smiles. "I was a flight instructor, not a part of the main force, remember? That's why I didn't stay with Star Fox." Then s__he curls up beside me. "So what was it like at the front lines? Scary as it sounds?"_

_It doesn't take long to remember. Sounds of gunshots everywhere fill my head, screams of wounded soldiers piercing my ears. Soon I'm back on the field, the rough earth below my feet, rifle in hand. __"It's nothing like being in an Arwing. At least in an aircraft, you get some distance." __Closing my eyes, I paint over the memory with black. Open them up again, and I'm looking at Fara._

_"What about Falco?" Her fingers glide over my left hand. "Wasn't he with you the whole time?"_

_I nod, smiling. "Yeah, he was."_

* * *

I arrive at the reception desk a quarter past noon in Lylat time and notice the majority of the people are humans. Heard about them from a pamphlet given to me before I got here. Doesn't take too long for me to start attracting stares from those passing by.

As if I didn't get enough of that from home.

"Since when do they let faggots into the tournament?"

I hear a voice behind me. Turn around, see a large, dark-skinned figure hovering over a human in medieval armour wearing a tiara on top of his blue hair. The larger one smirks as he continues talking.

"I knew the executives were penny-pinchers, but I didn't expect them to go as far as inviting pansies to fight."

I walk over to them. Then I tap the figure's shoulder. He turns to face me and only then does it occur to me that he's twice my size.

"Cut the guy some slack," I say. "Save it for the arena."

"So you're gonna defend the pansy, huh? I wouldn't be surprised if you happen to be one—"

"I have a girlfriend." It slips before I even thought about it. Surprises me sometimes how much one phrase can give so much security, but it works for a moment.

By then, a few spectators start watching us from afar, some with cameras. I'm left wishing none are from Lylat. The figure glances at them before looking back at both me and the blue human. Then he scoffs. "Suit yourself. See you in the arena, faggots."

The figure walks away, smirking as his cape trails behind him. The spectators soon start chattering amongst themselves and begin to scatter. One stands out from the crowd, a peacock with a camera. He takes a picture of me from a distance before leaving as well. Best guess is he's from Lylat. Great.

I turn back to the human in the tiara. "Hey, you okay?"

He chuckles. "I have a wife." Then he gets up and leaves.

* * *

_Sit at a table in a diner by myself. People outside the windows either wave and squeal or flash their cameras out at me. Inside the restaurant too, others glance at me before whispering amongst themselves. Without looking I can feel their stares everywhere. Didn't help that I was eating by myself either._

_Ring, I hear the door bell go and Falco enters. Beside him is a pink feline attached to his arm. The attention from the public shifts from me to them, and for a moment I can breathe._

_But people's eyes start switching between me, him, and her.  
__First him and her.  
__Then back at me._

_Soon the whispers begin again, and the only word I can make out from it all is girlfriend._

_Falco notices me and takes a seat at my table along with the feline he was with. He starts talking, introducing the her. Didn't pay attention much though. Feels strange seeing Falco with her, but I decide to shove the thought out of my mind._

_"Fox? Hey, you listening?" Falco starts snapping his fingers in front of my face and I shoot my head up. __It's only then that I realise he'd been calling out to me for several times already. He sighs, rubbing the feathers on his head. "Katt, can you get some drinks for us?"_

_The feline nods before leaving us alone. Finally. I let out a sigh of relief, but I can't escape Falco's stare._

_"What's wrong, man? Other people getting to you again?"_

_Never understand how he can adjust back to the normal life so well. Like he never went through the war to begin with._

_"Why are you here by yourself anyway?" he continues. "Looks strange if you ask me. No wonder you're getting some weird looks."_

_He starts laughing and I can't help but chuckle along. I spot Katt in the line-up by the cashier for a minute when an idea came to me._

_"I'm thinking about calling up Fara to go out to dinner or something. What do you think?"_

_"Uh-huh…" His voice softens, eyes widening. For some reason, the back of my mind says he didn't sound too happy about my idea, but I doubt it. He continues: "Maybe take her to one of those fancy ones in the main boulevard. She'd like that."_

_"But aren't those places expensive?"_

_"Women tend to like expensive stuff and all that other romantic shit."_

_Takes a few moments for his words to sink in. When I don't answer, it takes a few more seconds of him reading my face before he gasps._

_"…No way! I had you pegged for a romantic for years! You didn't know?"_

_He starts chuckling and I can feel the blush creep up, but my fur covers it. I scoff. "Not all of us happen to know women as well as you think."_

_"Hey, I'm just saying; everyone knows that. Besides, I am your wingman, aren't I? ____And I'm only giving suggestions—didn't say you need to take them all."_

_I chuckle. "Thanks."_

_And for a moment, everything feels normal again._

_Then Katt comes back with our drinks and the feeling ends._

* * *

The platform below my feet raises me to the surface of the stage where sunlight pierces my eyes and gust rips through me. The tournament starts the moment I see my opponent standing across from me.

A human child in a baseball cap. Opposite end of the stage from me. The thought of that dark-skinned guy from earlier comes to me. I can hear him now. _"First pansies, now pipsqueaks?" _At least I'm not the only strange person here.

From the stands, I hear Falco hooting and cheering. Eyes close. Then the arena disappears and cement walls surround me. In front a short soldier rushes up at me while swinging a knife around, forcing me to step back with each swing. I grab his hand and twist it only to have him trip me with a low-leg sweep. Clutch his arm—now he's locked in place, so I flip him over before tossing him several feet away. No sooner, he hurls a spark of electricity in my direction. It blows up in my face on contact and sends me flying backwards. Hit the ground, body aches and I groan. Now hurtling along the floor. Once it stops, I push myself back up and soldier comes charging straight for me. Too bad he misses when I sidestep out of his way.

There's a few basic tricks for martial arts that they teach in the military. Vital strike points that guarantee a knock-out or a kill.

Bring down a hammer punch to the back of his neck. Sends a shock throughout the enemy's body and knocks them down on the ground. The soldier face-plants onto the floor and groans. I'm about to kick him when he ropes a yoyo around my leg. Yanks me down from there, causing me to fall onto my back with a sharp thud. I twist my leg, kicking the yoyo out of his hands. Then I'm back up on my feet.

Place a swift kick in his leg at the sensitive area above the knee, and he'll scream from the pain. The soldier clutches his leg, giving me the chance to unwrap the string that's around mine.

Thrust a solid punch below the abdomen and he'll stumble back from the force. He clutches his stomach but quickly launches a fireball at my face. Flames scorch my coat, beads of sweat rolling off my fur near the heat. Once he's rushing towards me again, I throw another punch into his stomach.

Swipe a clean jab at his neck below his jaw and his air supply will get cut off. One quick hit and the soldier drops to his knees, clutching his neck and choking out coughs. Then he collapses where he stands.

I soon hear footsteps race from behind. Turn around and I spot Falco running up towards me. Following him is another soldier with a rifle aimed for his head.

No hesitations. Hold up my gun at him and fire.

_BANG!_

Lights flash in my face, and my vision begins to clear, Falco nowhere to be seen. Glance to my left. A peacock has a camera held up with the perfect view of me and a kid laying face down a few feet away. As reality sinks back into my head, for a second it feels like someone had just stabbed me in the chest. The kid's unconscious, the crowd's dead-silent, and some paramedics rush up to the stage to carry him out.

Takes a few seconds for the whispers of child assault to spread.

Takes another few seconds to realise I just won the round and that the peacock has a photo of me going overboard.

* * *

A few guys and I in the poker room gather around a cards table with a newspaper flipped open in the middle. A photo of the tiara man talking with a spiky blue-haired human is featured centre page. Newspapers are so old-fashion compared to what Lylat has, but press people still come from the same blood.

The bold heading at the top sounds cheesy enough to make me puke. "Blue For Two - Relationships Brew." That human has a wife, I want to say, but the ones behind me roar with laughter. Soon they flip to the second page, and there's my photo with the words "Child Assault" printed in thick bold font above it. The laughter behind me grows even louder and someone pats my back with heavy thuds. My stomach doesn't ease up either, only churning worse than earlier.

On the side, I spot Falco leaning against the wall drinking out of the beer can in his hand, so I join him there.

"And the news guys are at it again, aren't they?" he says. "Twisting everything they see to make things interesting. Cute photo today by the way. No wonder you get so freaked out whenever they're around."

"Freaked out? What are you talking about?"

"Oh look, there's a camera behind you right now."

Instinct snaps and I turn my head around. Nothing's there. Falco starts laughing, grinning wide.

"See? What did I tell ya? Admit it, you're paranoid."

"Shut up, you don't know how bad they can get."

"But I thought you liked the attention, what with you being the honourable Star Fox leader with a girlfriend no less." He laughs again, poking at my shoulder like I'm a little kit.

I stick my nose up at him. "They will rip you apart if you aren't careful."

"Then I'll be careful, don't worry—"

His pupils dilate as if he sees something behind me. But turn and there's nothing there again. "Falco?" I snap my fingers, and he turns his attention back to me. "Quit joking around. That's not funny."

He doesn't answer. Only stares at me.

I let out a shaky chuckle. "Hey, something the matter?"

He clutches his head. "No, just thought I saw something, nothing more."

My muscles relax, but soon I realise how close Falco's face from mine, and it takes him a few seconds to notice it too. He slinks back a bit, the air soon feeling a little heavier than I'd like. He runs his fingers through the feathers of his head, sighing.

"I'll see you later, okay?"

And he leaves me alone in a poker room of laughing humans.

* * *

_"Where's that bird you're always with, McCloud?" the pug in the bar stool beside me says. His uniform I recognise—he was from the same platoon I fought with. "The blue one, what's his name… Either way, you guys seem cute together."_

_"I think the war's gotten to your head, soldier."_

_To our right, I spot the ceiling lights reflect off a camera lens. Take a careful look. Spot a figure looking at me from the corner of the bar. Even here, can't believe they're everywhere._

_"Don't blame me," the pug continues. "You guys look like the ones who are dating. Best make sure the rest of the army don't find out. You know how some of those knuckleheads can get."_

_Soon enough, I see Fara walking into the bar and she waves at me. The pug raises an eyebrow, so I introduce her when she comes._

_"My girlfriend."_

_"Oh!" Eyes wide, he chuckles. "Then don't let me keep you, but say hi to your blue bird friend for me. From the fourth brigade, you can tell him."_

_"Sure thing…" But my attention's still turned to the cameraman in the corner of the bar._

_Fara notices where I'm looking and sees him too, so she pulls me in for a kiss as his camera flashes. She chuckles as she eyes him, whispering in my ear: "For safe measures."_

_Then she pulls me up to my feet and we leave._

* * *

"That guy. He's one to watch out for."

Falco keeps pulling out brochures from a rack in the waiting room and handing them to me. Each one has a picture of a fighter from the competition at the front. Soon enough I spot mine and Falco's within the pile. Take them out. Flip the page. Inside, they're scrawled with statistics and our move sets in several languages, one that includes Lylat's standard speech.

"Don't you find it weird how they happen to know everything before we all even fought our first rounds?"

"Quit worrying so much, McCloud." He pulls out more brochures as he flips through them. "Besides, everyone else is going to be doing the same thing when they see these anyway. Might as well use what's here to our advantage."

"But still—"

"Hey, is that ours? Lemme see them. What do they say?"

He starts reaching over my shoulders, so I decide to hold them far away from his reach. Feel his weight on my back, but I laugh as I watch him try to climb over to grab them.

"Come on, I just wanna see!"

Then we stumble to the floor. I keep laughing as he continues reaching, but soon he stretches his wing out over my head and finally manages a touch. Only then does it occur to me that he's at least half a foot taller.

But then I spot something flash from the corner. Turn, and Falco's flipped off my back and crashes to the floor before I can see what it was. Look back at him, he groans.

"What the hell?" Falco dusts off his clothes. "Could've at least warned me before dropping me off like that."

"Didn't you see that just now?"

"See what?"

"There was a—"

But the PA speaker in the ceiling goes off before I finish. "Entrant four, please head to the stage now. Your preliminary round will begin in five minutes."

The door opens and a bright white light makes it hard to see what's out there, but there's a faint sound of cheers coming from a crowd outside.

"That's me," Falco says as he stands up, half-scoffing half-chuckling. Then he ambles over to the door, waving a hand at me without looking back. "I'll see you later, man. Wish me luck."

And I watch as he stuffs his hands in his pocket before walking into the light.

* * *

_"So you're off then?" Falco stands in front of me and my Arwing, arms crossed._

_I brush past him without saying a word._

_"Don't tell me you're going alone."_

_Sometimes I wish Falco knew when to keep his beak shut. I resist the urge to grab his throat and shut it for him._

_He pulls my shoulder and forces me to face him. "I'm going with you."_

_"No you're not. You're staying here with Peppy and Slippy."_

_"There's no way I'm letting you go yourself!"_

_"Look, I'm the leader! You follow my orders—!"_

_But I'm cut off by a punch to the face, and I stumble back, feeling my cheek throb where Falco struck. He glares at me. "Get your head straight and fuck being the leader. Do you think I'm so stupid as to let you fight a war by yourself?"_

_Grit my teeth. "Better than risking everyone else here to fight it."_

_"__Like it or not, I'm coming with you."_

_"And what makes you think I'm letting you do that?"_

_He smirks. "Someone's gotta be there to save your ass after all."_

_I open my mouth, but he runs off his Arwing before I can say anything and takes off, and I'm left having to catch up to him before he gets himself killed._

* * *

First thing I see is a wasteland stretching in front of me as I peek out from a trench hole. Dust kicks up and covers hundreds of bodies. Shouts of the soldiers dull the sounds of rippling explosions.

For some reason, I'm supposed to be looking for Falco. He went missing. Can't find him anywhere.

Jump out from the trench and I charge forward.  
Enemies gun down the soldiers following beside me.  
Start shouting his name. Nowhere to be seen.  
Bombs continue dropping around me.  
Call out his name again.  
Footsteps behind me. Turn around.  
An enemy soldier strikes my head with the back of his rifle.

Then my eyes snap open and I find myself sprawled along the floor of my hotel room waken by a high-pitch ringing sound. Bed's a couple of feet away, back aches with a dull soreness, and the room spins around me in a blurry swirl of shadows. As beads of sweat roll off the fur on my forehead, first instinct that pops up in my mind is to find Falco and make sure he's okay.

Turn my head, and I spot a figure by the door, but the dizzy head makes it hard to tell who it is.  
Eyes slowly droop and I hear a distorted voice call out my name. Throat feels hoarse and dry. Can't call back.

The figure runs up to me and clutches me up to his chest. All I hear from him is please stop screaming. Faint thoughts run through my mind. Hard to focus. But I don't want to go home. I don't want anyone to see me like this. People will probably tell me that I'm just going crazy. How fantastic would that be?

His heat builds up on mine and the warmth blanks out my head. Then my vision fades to black as the ringing in my ear dulls.

* * *

_Fara__ pushes me onto the couch before I know what's going on, straddling my lap. I'm left locked in place, nowhere to go._

_"What are you doing?" But she doesn't hear me._

_She takes off her coat without a word and tosses it aside. Her muzzle's on my neck, and I can't help but lean back._

_"Fara, stop. What are you—"_

_She brings her face close to mine. "I thought we were supposed to be dating."_

_"Wait—" But she pulls me into a forceful kiss before I can say anything else. My coat's ripped off, her hands now all over my chest. She pushes me deeper into the couch as she fumbles around with my shirt._

_Mind's a complete blank. Heart pounds in my ears. Try desperately to breathe, but I can't even complete a full thought. She throws my shirt over my shoulders and I'm left bare-chested with nowhere to hide, completely exposed._

_Blink, and I see myself back on the battlefield. Ears start to ring as it dulls the sound of shouts and gunfire. A lizard in enemy uniform straddles me down on the ground and grabs my throat. My lungs fill with smoke and the smell of rotting flesh. Soon feel dizzy as intense heat sinks into my head, and I'm close to coughing out blood. Only left with a ringing in my ears that won't stop. Sh__arp and high._

_I push the lizard off me when the memory flashes back to reality. Fara flies back to the other end of the couch and I realise what I'd done. My chest heaves up and down, trying to catch my breath and slow my heartbeat. Beads of sweat roll off my fur. She stiffens as she sits back up, gaze locking with mine. In her eyes, I can see her thoughts processing. Then she gives me nothing more than a sad smile._

_"Why'd you ask me to date you?"_

_Catch myself looking down at my hands.  
__No answer._

_"Do you love me?"_

_I take another moment to think and we're left with silence._

_A few more seconds later, she grabs her coat off the floor, slips on her heels, and storms out the door, slamming it shut behind her._

* * *

The echoes of footsteps bounce off the concrete walls of the hallway between the arena and its exit. Falco and I got through all the preliminary rounds without a problem, though I lost my last one. Now I wait for him to return from his semi-final match. At the end of the hall, the shadow of a figure walks out of the light and I see a slumped cobalt bird dragging his fist across the wall.

Walk over towards him. "How'd it go?"

He then punches the wall. "How'd you think it went? I lost! To that asshole of all people!"

"Don't worry about it. It's just a match and you got pretty far anyway—"

"You don't understand! He's gonna be calling us all faggots and act all high and mighty like he has a trump hidden up his ass!"

"Falco!"

He tenses up.

Take a deep breath. Sigh. "It's over now. Forget about it."

He turns his gaze to the side, wings clenching to fists. Try to get him to look at me, but still he looks away.

"Hey," voice softens, "if it helps, I lost my match too."

I place a hand on his shoulder, but he slaps it away. Then he finally speaks— "Leave me alone, will you?" —but not words I want to hear.

He doesn't bother looking at me before he walks away, heading down the hall. A part of me wants to run after him, but another tells me to stay where I am.

Footsteps catch my attention once more. Appearing out of the light from the arena is the dark-skinned figure I met from before. Watch him walk up to me. His head turns to look at me. He smirks.

"Nice photo in the paper today." Then he chuckles. "Bet your girlfriend will think you two look cute together."

Eyes widen. And he continues laughing as he walks away, following the path Falco took out the arena. I watch as his figure shrinks into a dot with the distance. Minutes pass after he's long gone and I'm still left standing in the hallway by myself. My feet won't move. Head gets dizzy. And faint echoes of gunfire and people shouting ricochet throughout the concrete walls around me.

Close my eyes. Take deep breaths.  
The ground stays solid beneath my feet.

Soon enough the sounds stop and I'm left alone in the hall again.

* * *

Semifinals breeze by and the finals arrive just as fast. Many of us go to the poker room to watch the match. Funny how things work out sometimes—the final match is between the blue one in the tiara versus the dark-skinned guy, but I don't watch the whole thing. I already placed my bets earlier.

A human in a mask and blue jumpsuit starts handing out beers to all the guys in the room, even one to Falco and me. "On the house!" he shouts as cans get passed around. Some of the guys behind me start gathering around a cards table and begin a game.

But Falco's been mumbling to himself on the side away from the crowd as he drinks from his beer can. Nudge him, and he snaps out of his daze. Soon he shakes his head. Turns to face me.

"Fox, can we talk?" His voice's quieter than usual.

"Sure, what's wrong?"

He sighs. "I'm sorry about earlier. Don't know what got to me. I—" He opens his beak, but for the first time, I hear a catch in his throat. I can see the struggle in his eyes as he sucks in a breath, trying to find the words he wants to say.

"Falco, what's going on?"

He still tries to spit out something, but instead curses under his breath and stutters. "A-actually, never mind. I need to go." And he storms out of the room.

Someone taps me. Turn, and the masked human's chugging his beer beside me—hand rests on my shoulders. "What's wrong with him?"

Wish I knew. "I'm gonna go see what's going on," I say. "Don't start the game without me."

I leave before he says anything. Then I start travelling through the hotel. Up the elevators to the second floor and down the halls over to where our bedrooms are.

Only one door's open a crack, so I peek inside. End up finding Falco sitting on his bed with empty beer can crushed in his wing. Lean against the door. Then knock, and his head shoots up before he turns around to see me.

"Falco, talk to me. What's wrong?"

He lets out an exasperated sigh. "I just need some time to think, that's it."

"That doesn't sound like you at all. What's going on? Still pissed at your loss?"

His head turns away from my gaze. "No, nothing to do with that. Just go, this is the last thing I need right now." I try to say something, but he cuts me off. "I'm gonna head back to where the guys are."

Before he can walk out the door, I stand in his path and block it off. He clenches a fist, but I don't budge.

"Look, I don't want to deal with any of your bullshit right now, okay?"

"My bullshit? What about you and your crap? It doesn't matter that you lost that match, but you've been acting weird since then and people are starting to notice—"

"Notice? Good, they better be."

I shove him. "What the hell? Don't you care at all? People think you're crazy enough as it is!"

"Oh, don't worry. I'll try to not be an embarrassment to the team or to you or to any of that crap. Happy? 'Cause I'm done. I am done!"

He turns, but I force his shoulder back around so he faces me. "An embarrassment? Is that what you think this is all about?"

"Don't make me laugh." He shoves me— "You make sure to keep Pepper happy." —again— "You got yourself a pretty girlfriend." —and again— "And you're the glorified son and successor of Star Fox's leader."

—until I'm backed up against the wall. Soon it occurs to me how much larger he is compared to me.

"Why have me ruin all that for you?" he continues. "I might as well go back home right now and not cause any more trouble."

"No, you're staying here and that's an order! I'm the leader, remember? Not only that, you're my best friend! I'm supposed to be looking out for you!"

He scoffs. "Why do you have to be such a fucking idiot? Did you ever think that maybe," he crushes me against the wall, wings pinning my arms down till I can't move, "I never wanted you to? That I can take care of myself just fine? Remember the war? Remember the trenches? Remember how I saved your ass?"

"Remember how I saved yours?"

Our eyes lock with the other, and his heavy breaths caress my muzzle as I realise how close we are. With each passing second, his breathing slows and his glare softens. And I can see us back in the battlefield when we were stuck in this position in the trenches when there was barely any room to take cover from the gunfire.

By now his muscles relax, yet I still find myself panicking until I realise no soldiers were around to kill us. The bags under his eyes make him look even more tired than five minutes ago. Pupils thin into saucers as if he's possessed. Then the distance between us slowly closes. His lips soon touch mine and they taste like the beer from earlier. Neither of us move for a while. My mind blanks—but the war zone returns—though I'm not sure what to think.

_Ground rumbles beneath me as bombs drop from the sky. __Rifle in hand sends shock waves through my body with each fire._

Then he pulls back as he senses my confusion. Stumbles a bit and starts mumbling apologies to me, though it's hard to hear what he's saying. But something snaps inside me, and I grab his collar, pulling him into a rough kiss, causing him to tremble. No sooner than that he kisses back as he crushes me against the wall. His chest presses on mine and I can feel his heart racing—though it might be mine.

_Smoke fills the air, making it harder to breathe. Everywhere, s__oldiers friend and foe blur past like __apparitions._

My hands slip under his shirt as my fingers run across the feathers on his back, pulling him closer. One of his wings wrap around my waist and the other mounts against the wall. Then I push him back until he trips onto the bed. He pulls me down and I'm straddled on top of him, my hands clutching the sheets. Soon his fingers start fumbling with the zipper on my jacket.

_Yet a single figure stands in the middle of the field. I force my feet to run. To catch up to him. Hands outstretch, but I can't yell at him to watch out._

But the sounds of chatter and footsteps from the other side of the door snap me out of my trance and I push myself off him. By the door, two shadows walk past as their voices grow. The shadows pause by the door—I stay quiet—before they walk away. Looking down, there lay Falco under me with a frozen blank face.

I choke under my own breath, and soon I find myself on autopilot. Climb out of the bed. Walk backwards towards the door. Slam it shut behind me.

My breathing gets shaky. Mind goes numb.  
Back presses against the door as I slide down to my knees.

But all I can picture is that perplexed look he had on his face.

Gotta calm down.  
Yet I can't process what just happened in my head. And now I'm frozen in a fetal position staring at the wall at the opposite end of me.

Thank goodness no one saw us.

_"Why do you have to be such a fucking idiot?"_

But I don't know what to convince myself of anymore.

* * *

_"So what do you want to do once you're out of here?" I ask Falco while I'm fixing up the buttons of my flight school uniform._

_Falco stares at me from the mirror as he's chewing on some gum. Feels weird seeing him in a graduation hat, let alone in his entire uniform without a missing coat or button. "Dunno, probably fly out of Corneria. Maybe find a girl I may actually like for once or something if I end up settling down someday."_

_Which is never, I feel like saying but don't. So I chuckle to myself only to get a weird look from him._

_"What 'bout you, man? Got any plans now that we're graduating?"_

_Takes me a while to think about it while fixing the last of my uniform's buttons, but I can feel his stare digging in without even needing to look in the mirror._

_"Find a girl?" he asks._

_Head shakes._

_"Travel?"_

_Shrugs._

_"Follow what your old man did?"_

_I scoff. "Why does everyone think I'm going to do that?"_

_"Why not? I mean you are the son of the famous Star Fox leader McCloud Senior after all. And yet you have no plans whatsoever? Figured you'd at least have something in mind, like starting up a team or something like that."_

_I stop fiddling with the buttons on my coat as his words sink in. "Maybe we could." Turn to look at him. "How about you and I start up Star Fox again? Get us a small crew, do a few odd jobs here and there."_

_He raises an eyebrow. "You serious? You were just against it a second ago."_

_"I never said that, but think about it. We're gonna be out of flight school soon and I doubt being in the army's the only thing you want to do, if that's what you even want to do in the first place. We can get our names out there, get the respect of the people, and bask in the glory of it all." Already, that signature smirk returns on his face, and I smile. "What do you say? Partners?"_

_He chuckles. "Sure." Then he stretches a wing out towards me. "I'll take you on that, McCloud."_

_"Then it's a deal." And we shake on it. "Welcome to the team, Lombardi."_

* * *

The day finally comes when the tournament ends and everyone has to go home. I step through sliding glass doors only to be greeted by a ship almost as big as the hotel itself—the Great Fox; it hums a hello as it sits in the middle of the grass field. Fara stands by its hull next to an open door ready to take me home. And Falco walks ahead of me as he steps inside the ship.

Soon I'm in front of Fara, but the words I had planned to say escape me. She's looking down at the ground, rubbing her arm.  
Her mouth opens, but no sounds come out of her either. Inside the ship, Falco turns around and beckons at me to get in. Glance back at her and she gives me a small nod. Her face sullen—but she has every right to be mad at me.

"I'm sorry—"

But she waves off my apology. For once, my guard lowers, and I'm thankful no cameras are around.

"Do you love me?" she asks.

Takes me a while to think and answer. In the public's eyes:

"Of course I do."

But I can tell she knows what I mean—easy to see from her sad smile and nod. Together we walk to the entrance and get in the ship where soon Peppy and Slippy greet us and congratulate me for how well I did in the tournament.

Inside I find Falco sitting on a couch in the lounge room by himself, wings resting on his knees with his face buried in his hands. Next to me, Fara rests her hand on my shoulder. I try to say something, but she hushes me before I can. Then she walks away and leaves me there alone.

When I walk in towards Falco, I take a seat on the couch across from him. The prolonging silence hits me like a bullet to the chest. Yet for once, I don't hear the gunfire anymore. Just me and him, and the both of us breathing.

"I'm sorry," I finally say. His eyes peek out at me through his fingers. He doesn't say anything.

Stand up. Turn to leave—

"Wait," he says. I stop and he looks up at me. "Just stay for a bit. Please."

I sit down beside him as he turns his gaze towards the couch in front of him. He doesn't do anything though, so I rest my head on his shoulder, and we stay like that for a while in silence.

All we have to do now is wait for a camera and see what happens.


End file.
